Abstract

We investigated the performance of hybrid photovoltaic devices composed of ZnO and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The uniform ordering of ZnO nanorods (NRs) and nitrogen plasma treatment at near-atmospheric pressure offer advantages in modifying the ZnO NR surface. Uniform ordering of the ZnO NRs promoted the effective infiltration of P3HT, increasing the donor–acceptor interface area, which is directly related to short-circuit current density (JSC). Near-atmospheric pressure treatment compensated carriers to form a highly resistant interlayer at the ZnOsurface, which reduced carrier recombination and, as a result, increased the open circuit voltage (VOC). Combining these two approaches achieved five-fold increase in JSC compared to that of the planar heterojunction, while the VOC was increased up to 0.71 V.

Received 16 November 2012Accepted 08 February 2013Published online 26 February 2013

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported in part by the Bilateral Joint Project between Hungary and Japan established by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Part of this work was performed in the MANA Foundry, which is part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI Program) established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. J.V. acknowledges the support of the János Bólyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Fundamental Research Fund (OTKA PD 77578).